The Expanse - Season 3 - “It's a Legitimate Salvage”

Watching season 1 episode 1 and its a minor thing but I'm genuinely curious: does anyone know when sci-fi TV production design shifted to making everything look futuristic except specifically clothes? We went from Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5 costume designs to t-shirts, beanies, and jackets with zippers, which considering how advanced everything else looks in this show is kind of jarring?

Well I don't have SyFy but I'm buying the episodes on Amazon.

First episode of season 3 is amazing. That intro pan through the solar system.... How does this show look so sexy?

I think the paradigm for how we see the future has changed in the wake of us getting mass tech advancement and discovering that it's led to culture just straight up not dying.

My anus puckered when Bobby lost her mag lock on the ship hull.

The interior set design of these ships are marvelous. I love all the ladders and the verticalness of the ships.

I hope everyone who can't watch it on syfy will at least buy the new episodes on google play, itunes, or amazon. Anything to let Alcon Entertainment (who produces it) know that people are watching it.

Drummer wants you to.

Taki said:

My anus puckered when Bobby lost her mag lock on the ship hull.

The interior set design of these ships are marvelous. I love all the ladders and the verticalness of the ships.

I hope everyone who can't watch it on syfy will at least buy the new episodes on google play, itunes, or amazon. Anything to let Alcon Entertainment (who produces it) know that people are watching it.

Drummer wants you to.

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The licensing for this show is so fucked up really, SyFy has the rights for the US, but you can buy episodes on Google play, Itunes and amazon too? Whilst in Europe, NOTHING until 6 months after. Alcon really got a shit deal with distributors, it doesn't even make sense. There's literally no market incentive to make a deal with that delay.

Paganmoon said:

The licensing for this show is so fucked up really, SyFy has the rights for the US, but you can buy episodes on Google play, Itunes and amazon too? Whilst in Europe, NOTHING until 6 months after. Alcon really got a shit deal with distributors, it doesn't even make sense. There's literally no market incentive to make a deal with that delay.

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What about international Netflix rights? I thought the show is available on netflix outside the US.

Taki said:

What about international Netflix rights? I thought the show is available on netflix outside the US.

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Season 1 and Season 2 were available on Netflix 6 months after airing in the US. So, yes Netflix has the rights, but with a 5-6 month delay. It's a shitty deal they've signed, and I can't make sense of it.

Loved the first episode, plenty of threads to unravel and lots of amazing space scenes.

I love how they actually put thought into the design and how things work in space with the ships and traveling, especially taking into account inertia and having a way to fight that when the ships travel at a fast speed with the design of their chairs, the neck holding for their spine and the "goo" stuff to help their body fluids counter the effects, etc.

Lots of sci fi shows just ignore this whole aspect of traveling at a high speed and have ships that just magically go at light speed and "stop" with people just casually sitting in their seats like it ain't no big deal.

Stiler said:

Loved the first episode, plenty of threads to unravel and lots of amazing space scenes.

I love how they actually put thought into the design and how things work in space with the ships and traveling, especially taking into account inertia and having a way to fight that when the ships travel at a fast speed with the design of their chairs, the neck holding for their spine and the "goo" stuff to help their body fluids counter the effects, etc.

Lots of sci fi shows just ignore this whole aspect of traveling at a high speed and have ships that just magically go at light speed and "stop" with people just casually sitting in their seats like it ain't no big deal.

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Yeah I really appreciate that stuff. Also the vertical design of the ships so that they can have faux 'thrust gravity' when accelerating at 1g.

Nothing against Star Trek's inertial dampeners, of course. :)

This is the only show in the past decade I have had to compensate for not having cable with. Scifi (or whatever they are) bought me when they streamed the first few season 1 episodes for free.

Great first episode.

It's so great to have this back.

First episode back was solid. I'm glad I recently rewatched the show, didn't miss a beat.

Oh man, what a fucking beautiful show this is.

Chris McQueen said:

Oh man, what a fucking beautiful show this is.

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Completely agree.

Stiler said:

Loved the first episode, plenty of threads to unravel and lots of amazing space scenes.

I love how they actually put thought into the design and how things work in space with the ships and traveling, especially taking into account inertia and having a way to fight that when the ships travel at a fast speed with the design of their chairs, the neck holding for their spine and the "goo" stuff to help their body fluids counter the effects, etc.

Lots of sci fi shows just ignore this whole aspect of traveling at a high speed and have ships that just magically go at light speed and "stop" with people just casually sitting in their seats like it ain't no big deal.

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Star Trek at least cheated by tossing 'inertial dampeners' into it, so they get a bit of a pass (plus not like Trek was ever much about the science of anything). But yeah most shows/movies don't even acknowledge the real world when it comes to that.

I loved the episode last season where they mixed in the first flight of the forget-the-name-of-it-at-the-moment drive that's able to maintain continuous acceleration super efficiently but managed to kill the inventor 'cause he couldn't shut it off. *That* would indeed be a momentous invention (hello Alpha Centauri), but as the show clearly pointed out could kill you easily if you weren't prepped. The dual-gyro seat setup of the racer ship was awesome.

It's weird to me as I feel actual real life physics applied to these situations is FAR more intense than just going with Earth-like behavior in space, as shown by this show (and to a far lesser extent BSG). Simple stuff like missiles taking a decent amount of time to reach their targets, but trackable from the moment they're launched, that is intense stuff. You know what's coming for what seems like a long time but also know you have a very limited options for how to stop the inevitable. Much different than normal space Scifi where everything is instant-effect range or Earth based stuff.

The Knights of Sidonia anime on Netflix, at least for Season 1, does this too and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. Hell much of S1 tied into the harshness of space and physics - an especially brutal part of S1 has them avoiding an enemy attack through a maneuver that's almost as devastating just because of the G forces incurred to do it. The idea of having to fight both an enemy trying to kill you as well as the very laws of the universe you must counteract is such an underutilized well for Scifi drama in film/tv.

The only nice thing about getting old is that these season just keep coming, faster and faster.

Was I the only one who thought it was a pretty weak episode? I didn't like the canned one-liners at the end of what are supposed to be serious conversations. I also didn't like how people randomly stopped having any internal motivations or desires after just a few sentences of someone explaining something to them, used as plot pieces to move the story forward. Which is fine for an episode that needed to just get off the ground somehow, I just hope that in the future episodes, the characters who are initially resistant to someone's ideas or wants don't magically roll over just because the plot needs them too. Naomi seemed to be the only one who didn't immediately go; "great idea!" after being told something.

Season 2 was probably the best sci-fi show I ever watched, and had me gripped from day one. so I'm excited for the rest.

Boss said:

Was I the only one who thought it was a pretty weak episode? I didn't like the canned one-liners at the end of what are supposed to be serious conversations. I also didn't like how people randomly stopped having any internal motivations or desires after just a few sentences of someone explaining something to them, used as plot pieces to move the story forward. Which is fine for an episode that needed to just get off the ground somehow, I just hope that in the future episodes, the characters who are initially resistant to someone's ideas or wants don't magically roll over just because the plot needs them too. Naomi seemed to be the only one who didn't immediately go; "great idea!" after being told something.

Season 2 was probably the best sci-fi show I ever watched, and had me gripped from day one. so I'm excited for the rest.

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I would not be surprised if they filmed a large part of this episode at the end of S2. It was very much an epilogue/transition episode. There were virtually no new sets or actors.

Great opener. Nothing bad had better happen to Bobby or I riot. She's pure awesome. I'm delighted that Sci-Fi are getting more and more lax on language so that the characters can be more like they are in the books. Need more Averasala sassiness.

I noticed that Florence Faivre is no longer named among the main cast during the opening credits. Man, that was a pretty sweet gig she had for those first two seasons. She was only in about 5 episodes in total and presumably got paid for all of them. I don't understand why they gave her that kind of a deal when they knew exactly the fate of her character from the source material, it's really odd.

Meanwhile, Chad Coleman continues to get shafted. :(

S3 already, damn I love this show. UK here, I only got to watch this on Netflix, anyone know when we will get this new season?

Ushay said:

S3 already, damn I love this show. UK here, I only got to watch this on Netflix, anyone know when we will get this new season?

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10yrs time

Beefy said:

10yrs time

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I came here to post the same joke.

Seriously, what is the deal with the Netflix delay? it's not like any channel in the UK has the rights to air it first.

Maybe it's just me but I never know what the hell is happening in this show

Beefy said:

10yrs time

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Soap said:

I came here to post the same joke.

Seriously, what is the deal with the Netflix delay? it's not like any channel in the UK has the rights to air it first.

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Aw man, don't say that. Nobody in UK airs this show. I was hoping Netflix could secure the rights to air in weekly like they did with Black Lightning.

Ushay said:

Aw man, don't say that. Nobody in UK airs this show. I was hoping Netflix could secure the rights to air in weekly like they did with Black Lightning.

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Season 2 didn't come out until like 9 months after season 2 finished airing in the US. It was a horrible wait.

I don't understand how syfy in the UK don't air the same programming as their US counterpart (same for FX, actually). Are they not owned by the same company or something? They have the same logo 'n everything.

Binge watched the rest of season 2 the last few nights and got all caught up finally. Really like where things ended up at the end of season 2. Only complaint is how the protomolecule has taken center stage instead of staying the in background like it had in season 1.

Havent read the books, do they ever get past the protomolecule stuff or is that the main driving force throughout the books?

Holden lose weight to really sell that sickness.

Bobby is my favorite character right now. Reminds me of Breanne of Tarth

chalkitdown said:

I don't understand how syfy in the UK don't air the same programming as their US counterpart (same for FX, actually). Are they not owned by the same company or something? They have the same logo 'n everything.

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Even if they are, they don't have the international rights to the show, Netflix has those. It's a really poor decision on the licensing for the show, and honestly I feel the only real losers on the deal is the production company Alcon Entertainment. Well, and SyFy, and all the fans when the show gets cancelled cause they didn't have enough viewership.

Paganmoon said:

Even if they are, they don't have the international rights to the show, Netflix has those. It's a really poor decision on the licensing for the show, and honestly I feel the only real losers on the deal is the production company Alcon Entertainment. Well, and SyFy, and all the fans when the show gets cancelled cause they didn't have enough viewership.

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Pretty convinced that you don't need to worry about this too much. For one, I reckon the Netflix deal is a big part of the budget for this show. That fact also gives it a good chance of continuing even if SyFy passes on more.

Think of it like the CW shows, like Crazy Ex-Girfriend and Jane the Virgin or Dynasty and the DC shows. All these shows have okayish ratings at best, some of them have absolutely awful ratings, even for CW. Yet all of them continue to be renewed. Why? Because they are cheap to make for CW and a great investment for Netflix worldwide, giving them new content weekly throughout the year. It works out for everyone involved.

Aiii said:

Pretty convinced that you don't need to worry about this too much. For one, I reckon the Netflix deal is a big part of the budget for this show. That fact also gives it a good chance of continuing even if SyFy passes on more.

Think of it like the CW shows, like Crazy Ex-Girfriend and Jane the Virgin or Dynasty and the DC shows. All these shows have okayish ratings at best, some of them have absolutely awful ratings, even for CW. Yet all of them continue to be renewed. Why? Because they are cheap to make for CW and a great investment for Netflix worldwide, giving them new content weekly throughout the year. It works out for everyone involved.

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The Expanse is anything but cheap though, it was the most expensive show SyFy had ever aired iirc. And there were already rumblings last year about the ratings not quite matching the cost.

Paganmoon said:

The Expanse is anything but cheap though, it was the most expensive show SyFy had ever aired iirc. And there were already rumblings last year about the ratings not quite matching the cost.

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It is nowhere near the most expensive Netflix show though. The time where just American ratings and networks decided the fate of tv shows is long gone.

Four episodes in and I think this show might be really good guys

Mezentine said:

Four episodes in and I think this show might be really good guys

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It's by far the best thing Sy-Fy has made

Chris McQueen said:

Oh man, what a fucking beautiful show this is.

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It's probably just me, but I actually really dislike the art design of the show. The ship/station interiors are just too clean and sterile, there is little personality to them. And, I find the use of lighting to be the same. Also, the clothes are just lame. It's stuff you'd see on Earth today with not a lot of personality to them. It's also why I love Avasarala's costume design so much, it actually has something unique about it.

Vic_Viper said:

Binge watched the rest of season 2 the last few nights and got all caught up finally. Really like where things ended up at the end of season 2. Only complaint is how the protomolecule has taken center stage instead of staying the in background like it had in season 1.

Havent read the books, do they ever get past the protomolecule stuff or is that the main driving force throughout the books?

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Book spoilers:

BossAttack said:

It's probably just me, but I actually really dislike the art design of the show. The ship/station interiors are just too clean and sterile, there is little personality to them. And, I find the use of lighting to be the same. Also, the clothes are just lame. It's stuff you'd see on Earth today with not a lot of personality to them. It's also why I love Avasarala's costume design so much, it actually has something unique about it.

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Same. There's nothing that stands out as "cool" to me on this show like the ships and outfits in BSG were.

I am thinking of getting into the books. Can someone kindly inform me which book the third season is starting off on and whether there's a format of each season corresponding with each book (which would make this season book 3)?

i-Lo said:

I am thinking of getting into the books. Can someone kindly inform me which book the third season is starting off on and whether there's a format of each season corresponding with each book (which would make this season book 3)?

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The seasons don't match the books. Been a while since I've read it, but season 3 starts somewhere halfway book two or so.

Book one ended with

Antagon said:

Book spoilers:

Spoiler

The protomolecule is a driving force throughout the series, but there's still huge changes with regards to the story; the TV show is basically still just going through the first act.

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Thanks for the info. I really like all the storylines in the show. Just thought the protomolecule was a cool background plot and im not sure how I like it being in the forefront. Hopefully they will use it in a cool way though going forward.

Awesome, can't wait!

Antagon said:

The seasons don't match the books. Been a while since I've read it, but season 3 starts somewhere halfway book two or so.

Book one ended with

Spoiler

Eros crashing into Venus.

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Very interesting indeed. Thanks. So, do you like the show as much as the book despite the differences?

Vic_Viper said:

Thanks for the info. I really like all the storylines in the show. Just thought the protomolecule was a cool background plot and im not sure how I like it being in the forefront. Hopefully they will use it in a cool way though going forward.

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Don't be too afraid, politics is still a major part of the story in basically all the books.

Mezentine said:

Watching season 1 episode 1 and its a minor thing but I'm genuinely curious: does anyone know when sci-fi TV production design shifted to making everything look futuristic except specifically clothes? We went from Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5 costume designs to t-shirts, beanies, and jackets with zippers, which considering how advanced everything else looks in this show is kind of jarring?

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Well, we still use many clothes from a century ago or more so ^^.

So I just started watching The Expanse (3 episodes in), and really love it so far. I just came across the ratings the show has been getting--do you guys think it will be likely cancelled after season 3 finishes? Any rumors? Not sure if I want to commit to another series that will prematurely end... :(

Apologies if this has been asked numerous times before.

Mezentine said:

Watching season 1 episode 1 and its a minor thing but I'm genuinely curious: does anyone know when sci-fi TV production design shifted to making everything look futuristic except specifically clothes? We went from Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5 costume designs to t-shirts, beanies, and jackets with zippers, which considering how advanced everything else looks in this show is kind of jarring?

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Yeah, I really do miss when production designers tried to come up with actual future fashion. Don't get me wrong, it frequently looked either terrible, or at least goofy as fuck, but I still preferred it to people just wearing exactly the same stuff as we do now. (The worst example of this has to be the Kelvin Timeline Trek films. Star Trek had a long and proud tradition of absolutely whacked out future fashion, and it all got dumped in favour of plaid shirts, jeans, and leather jackets. THERE SHOULD BE NO ZIPS, OR OTHER NON-FUTURISTIC CLOTHING FASTENERS, IN THE FUTURE. RODDENBERRY DEMANDS IT!!!)

It is possible to design future fashion that looks genuinely good, too. I genuinely liked Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided's Renaissance-inspired clothing aesthetic, for instance.

guru-guru said:

So I just started watching The Expanse (3 episodes in), and really love it so far. I just came across the ratings the show has been getting--do you guys think it will be likely cancelled after season 3 finishes? Any rumors? Not sure if I want to commit to another series that will prematurely end... :(

Apologies if this has been asked numerous times before.

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Pretty much impossible to say for now, I'm afraid--it can be really hard to predict if a modern TV show's gonna keep running, what with streaming deals, VOD viewing figures, and so on. I'd say just go ahead and enjoy it--worst comes to worst, the books aren't dependent on ratings in the same way, so you'll be able to get closure there.

Breqesk said:

Pretty much impossible to say for now, I'm afraid--it can be really hard to predict if a modern TV show's gonna keep running, what with streaming deals, VOD viewing figures, and so on. I'd say just go ahead and enjoy it--worst comes to worst, the books aren't dependent on ratings in the same way, so you'll be able to get closure there.

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Yeah, I might as well watch it then! I bought the first season on iTunes, will buy both season 2 and the season pass for 3 later on.

Anyone listening to podcasts after each episode?

I think The Churn is the best because they have the authors and actors talking about the episodes. Not a huge fan of the hosts though. Pretty sure it's a syfy official podcast which is how they get access.

Personally I love the Bald Move guys and they don't podcast on every show, so I'm stoked they are doing the Expanse. Their podcast is called Beltalowda.

Jag said:

Anyone listening to podcasts after each episode?

I think The Churn is the best because they have the authors and actors talking about the episodes. Not a huge fan of the hosts though. Pretty sure it's a syfy official podcast which is how they get access.

Personally I love the Bald Move guys and they don't podcast on every show, so I'm stoked they are doing the Expanse. Their podcast is called Beltalowda.

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I'm not a big podcast person, but I've heard loads of praise for The Churn.

Cornballer said:

I like The Churn (and listened to part of last week's episode on the way into work), and they do have great access to cast and crew. The hosts are fine, but my main issue with this and other official podcasts is that they're unrelentingly positive about every single thing because they're talking with the cast and crew. They don't include any criticism at all, which is a little disappointing, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to complain about it when speaking to the people that created it. It's still a fun resource with lots of insight into how the show gets made.

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That's why I balance it with Bald Move. They do a number of great podcasts. Churn first, then Bald Move if I have time.